Welcome back to the New Dawn.

First off I don't own Naruto.

Thanks to those who reviewed chapter 2 of my work: GravenImage, Tonello, PBJisgood and metalmiked48.

Responces:

PBJisGood: Sorry but I find it important to show the different POV's of the characters because unlike a manga you can't see the expresions they have.

metalmiked48: TBH, I was aware that many might not like the fact that I became side tracked with the Fall of Kiri arc but for me it was necessary for me to show this as it means so much to the overall story. I have lost a significant amount of my readership due to the decision but I can live with it so long as the story I want to tell is told. But so you know this chapter will be the final chapter of that arc and we will be returning to Konoha in chapter four.

Note from RR: Because of the pending holiday weekend I may not be able to post chapter four next week. But instead of making you guys wait an extra week I've decided to post chapter four one week early. That's right, today I will be releaseing two chapters. And I will not post a new chapter next week. Happy Thanksgiving!

And now here's New Dawn Chapter three and always, please review.........

Naruto: Chronicles of the Seventh

Book Two: New Dawn

Chapter Three: The Third Mizukage Returns

Kirigakure – Minutes after sunrise

Slowly the five large wolves circled the Mizukage. She noticed the rank smell that emanated from each of them. They smelled like rotting flesh, they smelled of death. As they each growled the Fifth could see steam rising from their mouths. The Fifth also took note of the fact that despite her technique the wolves seemed unfazed by the heat within the small space.

The Fifth tensed as she waited for the first of them to pounce. Based on her previous experience with wild animals she expected that the one to strike first would be the one from behind. She was right. As one of the wolves circled her and reached right behind it pounced with its jaws wide, prepared to tear her to shreds.

The Fifth leapt and back flipped just over the beast. Her feet barely touched the back of the wolf and she pushed off and fired her lava release at the far wall, melting it instantly and opening a hole leading outdoors. In one smooth motion the Fifth landed on the ground and leapt through the opening with the beasts leaping out in pursuit.

Using her falling momentum the Fifth glided past the first wolf as it tried to bite at her legs. She then spun quickly and kicked away another wolf as it closed in from behind. Nearing the ground she again fired another Lava Release melting the ground below. She then grabbed a nearby pole and leapt clear of the ground which had just turned into a small lava pit.

Unfortunately the first two wolves were not that lucky and landed into the pit and began to burn and melt. The acrid and nauseating smell of burning fur and flesh quickly rose into the air as the other three dogs were able to clear the pit. The Fifth then leapt to open ground as the beasts once again began to attack.

Two of the wolves leapt at her attempting to bite her in two. The Fifth kept jumping back in avoid their attempts but then noticed that the third wolf did not join the fray but instead took a deep breath and then, to her astonishment, fired a large stream of ice at her. Without enough time to avoid the attack the Fifth found herself flash frozen and at their mercy. But before the wolves could move in the Fifth disappeared.

A few meters away, hidden in the shadows in a narrow alleyway, The Fifth looked on. So they can create an ice blast from their mouths, she thought. No wonder Madara summoned them. What better way to combat heat than with ice. "Do you like my pets Mayumi-chan," Madara said. The Fifth turned to see Madara standing right behind her. Before she could block, Madara kicked her in the head, knocking her back into the open.

Hearing the noise, the wolves turned quickly and ran at The Fifth as she got to her feet. The Fifth, seeing that Madara, had once again disappeared, ran back into the narrow alleyway and stopped when she reached the end. The alleyway was too narrow for the wolves to enter together and they were forced to move in single file, which is exactly what The Fifth wanted. She quickly made several hand signs and fired another Lava release at the walls on both sides of the alley. The walls began to melt and the wolves and the Fifth's clone, without room to maneuver were buried under molten concrete.

Back out in the open, The Fifth was hiding behind a tree. She took a deep sigh of relief and then began to scan the area for Madara. Suddenly to her surprise one of the wolves, badly burned and with parts of its body melted off, seemed to come from no where and bite her in her left side. Its jaws clamped down and sunk deep within her body. With her body firmly in his jaws the wolf raised its head taking her off her feet and suspending her high into the sky.

The Fifth's body was screaming in pain as the beast's jaws clamped down harder. She felt as if her body was moments from being torn in two. She felt the metallic taste of blood in her mouth and her vision was slowly fading. Desperate, she quickly created several hand signs her body then turned to mud and slipped though the beasts jaws and into its mouth. The wolf recoiled at the taste and attempted to vomit the mud out but it was too late as the Fifth entered the animals' stomach.

At first the wolf seemed to mill about, not sure what to do as there was no immediate target. Then it began to thrash about wildly, howl and finally it yelped as burns began to sprout up throughout its body. Slowly, its skin began to burn and then it began to melt. The wolf fell over to its side and as it melted away, in the middle of its body stood The Fifth.

Her limbs felt heavy and her vision hazy. She walked out from the burning pulp that was the wolf and made her way to a nearby tree. As she got there she reached out and grabbed it to prevent herself from falling over. She tried to take a deep breath and felt a sharp pain. At least five of her ribs were broken and a lung punctured.

"Very good Mayumi-chan," Madara said as he walked towards her clapping. "I must admit you sure know how to put on a good show." Madara came to a stop several feet away from her and folded his arms and looked down towards the ground. "Such a shame about my pets though. I did care a lot about them and it'll take a long time before I get replacements."

The Fifths' breaths were becoming more labored. She was losing blood from the bites and she had used far more chakra than she expected. Her face was covered in sweat and her clothes were torn and bloody. Forcing herself to talk she said, "I'm…so….sorry….for your loss." Willing herself, the Fifth let go of the tree and stood up under her own power. If she was to die she would die strong. "I'm sure you very much expected those beasts to have me for breakfast! Sorry to disappoint you."

Madara laughed. "Mayumi-chan," he said, "I never expected those wolves to be able to kill you. I just wanted them to wear you out." Faster than she expected, Madara sprinted at her. Delving deep, The Fifth summoned all her remaining strength to fight back and blocked his punch. Madara followed his punch up with a high kick to the face that she was also able to block.

Madara pressed on with a flurry of punches and kicks knowing The Fifth lacked the energy to last long. And he was right. Despite the sudden adrenaline she was feeling, her wounds were severe and were taking there toll. Her limbs felt like they were moving through sand and her eyelids were growing heavy. Suddenly she was rocked off her feet as one of Madara's punches finally connected.

The Fifth landed on the ground hard and for a moment was stunned by the power behind Madara's attacks. Madara leapt into the air intent on crashing his knee into her sternum. The Fifth quickly created several hand signs and once again turned her body to mud just as Madara landed.

The mud moved several feet away and then suddenly re-constituted back into her body. She was now on both knees and struggling to get up. "Hmmm," Madara said as he slowly walked towards her, "It seems you lack the chakra to maintain that jutsu. What a shame. You probably could've escaped too. Oh well."

Still on her knees The Fifth smiled, "I…..wasn't running away. I was….putting space….between us." Once again she made hand signals "I warned you about being overconfident. Earth Style: Stone Shackles!"

To Madara's amazement several shackles made of dense stone rose from the ground around him. He then became intangible but the shackles grabbed him none-the-less. A shackle snapped at each of his legs, arms and his neck. At first Madara was confused as to how they could have grabbed him. Then he remembered her flesh. He still hadn't removed all of it from himself.

Once he was unable to move, The Fifth immediately created another hand sign and said, "Water Style: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!" All at once a large volume of water was released from her mouth and advanced in a powerful surge towards Madara and slammed into him, sweeping him away.

Slowly the water resided and she saw that the shackles were broken off. The land and the buildings nearby were all heavily damaged or destroyed by her attack. She scanned the surrounding area and saw Madara lying next to an uprooted tree. His body splayed awkwardly on the floor and by the look of it, his back was broken. For awhile he lay motionless and The Fifth sighed in relief. Then she heard him moan and was shocked to see him slowly rise to his feet.

"No way," she said as she saw him rise. Madara was bent back in an almost ninety degree angle and one of his legs was snapped and hanging to the side. Then the Fifth heard an inhuman sound coming from his body as his bones appeared to snap back into place and his muscles and cartilage repaired itself. Within moments Madara was standing, and all of his injuries were gone, as is they had never even happened.

"Wow," he said as he slowly walked over. "That was impressive. To think you still had some Chakra left." Digging deep, The Fifth once again created hand signals and yelled, "Lava Release!" Once again she opened her mouth and released a wave of molten rock that caught Madara off guard and engulfed him. The lava spread out and covered a large potion of the ground and The Fifth waited until she was sure no movement could be found.

Slowly she got to her feet and suddenly bent over and vomited. Damn, she thought, I pushed myself too far. As she finished vomiting and wiped with trickle of blood from the side of her mouth she stood up straight and breathed in deep.

It was then, to her amazement a figure quickly rose from the molten lava in front of her and grabbed her by the neck. It was Madara. Most of his clothes were burned away and the exposed parts of his body shone that his flesh was burned away. His right arm was gone up to the shoulder.

The Fifth tried to pry herself free but Madara's grip was surprisingly strong and in her state she lacked the strength to get loose. "Now I'm angry," Madara said as he squeezed even tighter. The Fifth was in a panic. Madara was squeezing her neck tighter and tighter. Her vision began to fade and her head began to thump wildly as it screamed for oxygen. In desperation she clawed at his face, knocking away his mask. Seeing his face she recoiled in horror.

"Don't worry dear," he said, "Your Lava isn't responsible for this. But this flesh is but temporary. Soon, I will be whole. Soon I will be a GOD!"

It was then she heard again the tearing of flesh and the snapping of bone and to her amazement she saw Madara's lost arm sprout from his shoulder. "What are you," she asked in horror.

"I am," he said, "beyond mortal comprehension." Madara then punched her in the face and slammed her hard into the ground and for The Fifth, everything went black. Madara then threw her unconscious body clear of the lava and walked out of it. His right leg which was burned away began to re-grow as well.

Once it was fully formed Madara walked towards The Fifth but then doubled over in pain and spit out blood. "Damn," someone said behind him. Madara fell to his knees in pain. He could barely move. Turning he saw the person was Kisame. "It seems you guys had an interesting reunion," Kisame said while smiling. He walked up to Madara and drew his blade. "And now look at you," he said. "You've gone and over did things and pushed yourself too far. I bet you don't have the power to defend yourself right now." Raising his sword in the air Kisame said, "You really should have let me handle things." He then swung his sword down.

"No!" Madara screamed causing Kisame's blade to stop inches above The Fifth's neck. "Don't kill her," he said. "I want her to live, for now." Madara rose to his feet and placed his mask back on his face.

Kisame snapped at Madara, visibly frustrated, "You know how long I have waited for this moment, why should I wait any longer?!"

Madara walked up to him and placed his hand on his shoulder in an effort to calm him. "And you shall have your moment Kisame," he said. "But first I want her to live long enough to see the change that I will bring to this world. I want her to accept the futility of all she had tried to do to prevent my ascension. And only when she has suffered and grieved to my satisfaction will you then take her life."

Kisame took a deep breath and bristled. It was obvious to Madara that he didn't agree with his decision. But Madara also knew that Kisame would also do as he was told. Kisame slowly took his blade and gently slipped it beneath The Fifth's body and scooped her up. He then rested the blade on his shoulder.

"Take her to the prisons and place her in a cell alone," Madara said. Madara then turned and looked of towards a distant tree and called out, "Zetsu!" It was then Zetsu rose from within one of the tree's branches and walked over to Madara. "Go with Kisame and once she has been placed in a cell I want you to place a seal on her chakra."

It was then that Zetsu split himself in half and the black form said, "Yes of course Lord Madara." Then he walked over to Kisame and looked at the unconscious former ruler. "A shame someone so beautiful had to be an enemy," he said which made Kisame snort and shake his head. "Let's get the fuck outta here," Kisame said as he and Zetsu left.

After they had gone Madara began to walk back towards the office of the Mizukage with White Zetsu in tow. Zetsu remained silent as he knew what this meant for Madara. Zetsu knew that though this was but a step in Madara's grand plan it was, none the less, a meaningful moment to once again stand within Kirigakure as it's lord and master.

Madara, walked slowly, yet with purpose. His stride was that of a king slowly absorbing and observing his kingdom. As he moved to the buildings entrance the large doors were already open. The fallen bodies of the Mizukage's guards were strewn about. Madara neither looked at them nor touched them in any way. He walked through the halls as a conqueror that had no sympathy for his enemies or regret for taking their lives.

As he passed through the hallway just before reaching his office Madara stopped and surveyed the area. He was searching for Ao, but not surprisingly he was gone. But that was unimportant. Ao was but one ninja of limited skill; hardly a danger in any way. He would be found and killed in time. Madara, right now, had bigger concerns.

This was but the opening salvo in his assault on the ninja world. Many other pieces were now on the move that needed immediate attention. He also knew that he had a very narrow window in which to fortify Kirigakure. Word would soon reach the surrounding villages of Kirigakure's fall. And it was now, in the time of political upheaval, that the jackals would circle looking to feed. He had to show Kirigakure was strong and ready.

As he arrived at the office Madara stopped at the entrance, as if he needed a moment before he crossed the threshold. After a moment he entered and walked over to behind his desk. "Tell me Zetsu," he said finally, "How goes our little insurrection?"

"The last of the ninja loyal to the old regime are being hunted, killed or captured as we speak Lord Madara," Zetsu said. "And we have already begun to fortify the outer parameters of Kiri to deal with anyone trying to escape as well as dealing with Ichiro and his men when they return."

"Ah yes," Madara said, "Ichiro may prove difficult. Inform the men, when he returns not to engage him. Escort him to me and I will deal with him personally. What is the state of the citizens?

"At this time the overall casualties are minimal," Zetsu said. "There are many that require medical attention but few of the injuries are life threatening at this time.

"Good," Madara said as he turned to look outside. "As soon as you get everything stabilized begin getting those people the attention they need. Also gather as many of the able bodied men as possible and have them begin building shelters. Many of the buildings in Kiri were damaged during this revolt. Also send food and water to those in need."

Zetsu seemed to be confused and cocked his head to the side. "Forgive me Lord Madara but why do you care to help these people? They are sheep; weaklings whose only purpose is to serve and assist in elevating the few strong people in the world."

Madara turned to Zetsu and responded, "But even sheep must be treated even moderately well or they will die. And a Sheppard without a flock has no purpose."

"But what of the people who refuse your guidance," Zetsu asked. "Surely some of these fools may decide to revolt."

"I know Zetsu," Madara said, "Which is why you will gather the citizens of Kiri and before you provide aid you will tell them that the Third Mizukage has returned to be their Lord. All who bow before him will know peace and prosperity. All who refuse him will watch as their homes are destroyed, their families killed and their limbs torn apart one at a time. And to prove the seriousness of it you will then choose a random person and do it. Understand?"

Zetsu bowed slightly and said, "Of course My Lord." As he turned to leave, Madara called out to him one last time. "Zetsu," he said, "Also I want you to send word to the surrounding countries, The Third Mizukage has returned and Kirigakure is under new management."

Konoha – Two Days Later

Danzo had turned pale as he read the report from Kirigakure. It was late at night and he'd been up for nearly two days straight. Time was of no real consequence to him. Since war had been declared he'd attended non stop meetings with his advisors. It had been only two weeks since the declaration arrived but Kumogakure, as he expected, had wasted no time.

Already they had committed raids within The Land of Fire. Several of Konoha ninja had been deployed to the battle grounds and word of casualties were already coming back. Soon, this war would hit fever pitch, especially once Suna made its move, which according to the intelligence he'd gathered, would be soon.

Things seemed to be spiraling out of control for Danzo. But yet, when he was alone Danzo couldn't help but smile. Things were progressing according to plan. Now all that was necessary was to correct the one loose end. Now he had to deal with Uzumaki Naruto.

Meanwhile in place where time has no meaning

Hours, weeks, months, years….He can no longer remember how long he has been in this pit of darkness. All he knows is cold, loss and pain. He struggles to remember the life he left behind the faces he once knew. He remembers the lovely smile of a girl, her long black hair and ocean blue eyes. He can remember the laughter of a man who seemed, if his memory was correct, very lazy. He could remember another face, her pink hair, her sea green eyes and perfect lips and smile. Faces……faces…..faces whose names he could not remember…..names that had faded into oblivion…..faces that were slowly fading as well. Who are they, he wonders. Who am I?

End of Chapter Three

Next Time: Family Remains